Casting excitement aside, it looks gorgeous visually. I love how they arranged the space, bags and shoes.

Also, the styling is just delicious. The dress looked too simple on the runway and I felt like there was something missing; with the jewellery and fur bolero it looks beautifully complete, rich and sophisticated.

I'm really curious to see how the campaign is going to develop with the other shots, I'm loving it so far. I can't put my finger on it, but it has such a strong Alber charm to it

THE REAL DEAL: Alber Elbaz is keeping it real for Lanvin’s fall advertising campaign. Rather than models of the moment, Elbaz went for real women and men, ranging in age from 18 to 80.

The human panorama, captured by photographer Steven Meisel in New York, ranges from regal to punkish — and there’s even a fluffy white pooch amid a jumble of shoes and handbags strewn about an apartmentlike setting. Creative direction was by Ronnie Cooke Newhouse and Stephen Wolstenholme of House + Holme.

“I was interested to bring these clothes back to the street somehow, and seeing how they look on different ages, different sizes,” Elbaz told WWD. “It felt like a crazy family, and I like that.”

On the set, the designer soaked up each individual’s story. The cast of characters included a waiter, a milliner and a recent U.S. immigrant. The eldest participant related that it was her dream at age 18 to come to Paris and be a model, “but she was a showgirl at the Apollo,” Elbaz related, delighted to make her dream come true at last. “There was something very democratic about the approach,” he noted.

The men’s and women’s campaigns are slated to break in September issues in France, the U.S., Italy, Great Britain, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Russia and Brazil, with women’s-only spots running in Germany, Spain, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and the Middle East.

Lanvin noted advertising budgets are flat versus the previous fall season, with increases allocated to the burgeoning Asia region. The brand plans to release a viral video on the Internet on Aug. 21, based on the filming of the campaign’s newly minted stars. -WWD

This is shaping up to be really good! I wasn't convinced at all at first. Although I liked the set design and thought the first shot was gorgeous I was not looking forward to seeing a campaign with a "real" people cast but all three shots so far are magnificent. I'm surprised by how much attitude those non-models are giving, they really bring those images to life and the styling and the colors are just fantastic. They absolutely made this idea work. Definitely one of my favorite campaigns of the season, too.

It's developing so nicely! If they decided to go with models as well, it'd be a total ruiner for me, this is safely on its way of a well rounded, genuine story that'd in fact make people stop and take notice of it more. And if this is what an ad campaign within a much smaller budget can achieve, let them rest of the houses take note...